You might remember Kenneth Wimer published some background guidelines for Jaunty back in February. This was a great move because of the lack of organized effort in the artwork. I know that Canonical will be publishing more artwork guidelines within the next cycle, which I'm looking forward to and which I really think will help shape the look and feel of Ubuntu.
This is all fine and dandy, however I don't agree with all the guidelines published back in February. In the .PDF it says:
Design:
- Abstract imagery
- No strong logo usage (recommended)
- No other recognizable/readable text
- No mascots preferred (prove me wrong)
- Avoid parallel lines due to moire problems when scaling
- Be aware of how shapes relate within the whole desktop layout with panels, icons on the desktop, etc.
- No photography, unless heavily edited, stylized. No pictures of recognizable people/places/popular items
I would say that with both Hardy and Intrepid the way mascots was included in the artwork was truly art and worked out fantastic.
As for no strong logo usage I do agree, but I remember seeing some beautiful 3D Ubuntu logo images that worked very well as wallpaper.
Anyway... The last one is the one I actually want to talk about; "No photography, unless heavily edited, stylized. No pictures of recognizable people/places/popular items". I would love to see this included in Ubuntu. I've actually been using some of the Vista photos on my Intrepid desktop (don't tell anyone!) and loved the absence of abstract brown imagery. That's why I've created the "Ubuntu Wallpaper Photo Pack"
In my Easter holiday, I've taken some pictures that I would use as desktop wallpaper on my new Samsung SyncMaster 2343NW 23" (2048x1152 px). I decided to make a small collection which others might also enjoy.
The pack is titled "Ubuntu Wallpaper Photo Pack" and I've included ten photos (of varying quality).
The photos was taken with a PENTAX K10D camera and haven't been edited or manipulated in any way. Some photos are a little blurry, but I think they all make good (some even great) desktop backgrounds. I should mention that the images are mostly flowers and plants (no landscapes or similar included - yet).
You can download the files here (22 MB):
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/175241/wanted/Ubuntu_wallpaper_photo_pack.tar.gz
Ubuntu wallpaper photo pack is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Good job! I like them very much. I expect you to continue your work and make another packs with landscapes and other categories as vista has.
ReplyDeletenice shots; what lens did you use?
ReplyDeletedilomo -> Yes, I plan too - but there's no ETA at the moment.
ReplyDeleteShaMan -> 45,0 mm and 200,0 mm